


Love and Puns

by nerdlife4eva



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Romance, Bad Puns, Chemistry, Dorks in Love, Eventual Romance, Falling In Love, First Dates, Fluff and Humor, Fluffy Ending, Happy Ending, Love at First Pun, Love at First Sight, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Partners to Lovers, Romantic Fluff, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-29 06:11:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13921047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdlife4eva/pseuds/nerdlife4eva
Summary: Yuuri is a master at avoiding the assignment of a lab partner, preferring to work alone at all times.That is, until the perfect lab partner puns his way into Yuuri's heart.





	Love and Puns

**Author's Note:**

> This AU was a gift of a headcanon from the incredible [madamelenny](https://madamelenny.tumblr.com) who also made adorable art for this on Tumblr which you can find [here!](https://madamelenny.tumblr.com/post/171235838339/you-know-i-think-we-have-some-real-chemistry)
> 
> If you want to share a headcanon with me, please come visit me on Tumblr or Twitter!!  
> [NeRdLife4Eva Twitter](https://twitter.com/NeRdLife4Eva)  
> [n3rdlif343va Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/n3rdlif343va)
> 
> Also, please check out my other AUs which include the following Victuuri-based fics:  
> [Crash Into Me](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12527876/chapters/28528088)  
> [Be My Chef, Yuuri](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10102205)  
> [Law Firm of Katsuki, Nikiforov and Chulanont](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11084109/chapters/24724854)  
> [Katsuki's Pet Needs](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11403003/chapters/25540758)

**We've Got Chemistry**

After two years of college, Yuuri had lab down to a science. He would choose the lab table furthest from the professor, dropping his bag onto the second stool to create a false impression that it was saved for someone else. By the time lab partners were assigned there would be a small sigh from the teacher and a whispered question as to whether Yuuri was comfortable working alone. The answer was always yes, even if it meant shouldering the entire cost of the supply list. 

Smiling as he watched the professor close the classroom door, Yuuri sighed with relief at another successful class without a partner. The hurried “I’m so sorry, Professor!” made Yuuri’s head shoot up, taking in the flustered form of a human too beautiful to be real. 

“Ah, Mr. Nikiforov, happy you could join us,” the professor glanced around the room waving a hand in Yuuri’s direction, “Mr. Katsuki needs a partner. Please have a seat so we can begin.” 

Burying his face closer to his notebook, Yuuri tried to hide his rippling panic. There was a tiny flutter of excitement fighting for attention in Yuuri’s mind and he felt his cheeks flush as his otherworldly lab partner slid into the seat next to him. Pretending that the professor’s instructions on their first lab were the most interesting words to have ever been spoken, Yuuri stared forward, forcing himself to ignore his partner’s glances. 

“Alright, you have your instructions,” the plump professor clapped his hands as he rocked onto his heels, “let’s see what you’ve got!”

“Hi, I’m Victor!” Trying to keep his voice light, Victor reached his hand out to his new partner. It was impossible to ignore the jealous stares of the other students, and Victor couldn’t stop smiling as he scooted a bit closer to his partner’s side. He was gorgeous in a way that Victor couldn’t put into words, but he would definitely sneak a picture later so that maybe Chris could. 

A hand thrust in front of Yuuri’s face and he swallowed hard trying to remember his own name. Sighing, he accepted the hand shake, muttering “I’m Yuuri” as he dared to look up. Blue eyes and perfectly styled silver hair made his cheeks blush redder. Victor was definitely older than him, but his smile was bright and open in a way that Yuuri could never be. Without thinking, he continued to shake Victor’s hand, smile creeping over his lips as they let the handshake continue to bob past any reasonable point.

“Boys?” Their professor stood next to their table, a knowing smirk on his face as his students dropped their joined hands and turn sheepish looks in his direction. Laying down a lamented sheet, their professor raised an eyebrow, “periodic table for two?” 

While most of the class groaned at their professor’s bad joke, both Yuuri and Victor laughed watching their professor walk away with a jovial bounce. Shaking his head, smile still quirked in amusement, Yuuri set about measuring out their chemicals. 

Watching Yuuri from the corner of his eye, Victor set their burners to light, almost catching his fingers in the flame when Yuuri’s tongue poked out between his lips in concentration. His partner had said exactly two words to him and Victor was already imagining candlelit dinners and slow kisses in the park. Forcing himself to concentrate on the task in front of him, Victor placed the last glass tube in it’s place, nodding at Yuuri. 

They moved together seamlessly. Words became easier as they worked through their experiment, each step being an anticipation of what the other one was going to do. Unlike the other partners who seemed to be struggling with awkwardness and wrong calculations, Victor and Yuuri were a flawless team, completing their experiment to perfection a full thirty minutes before any other team. Grinning as their professor praised them, they sank back on their stools to wait for the end of class. 

Yuuri was sticking his tongue out again as he furiously jotted notes on his pad and Victor couldn’t stop himself from poking his partner on the cheek. When Yuuri turned to look at him with a confused smile, Victor blurted, “you know… I think we have some real chemistry.” He tried to recover from the cheesy come on by wiggling his eyebrows. 

Deadpanned, Yuuri responded, “were you looking for a reaction?” It wasn’t the best chemistry joke he had ever made, but the laughter escaped him as Victor’s own laughter echoed through the classroom. 

“I love you,” Victor wheezed, holding his stomach. Panicking when he realized what he said, Victor spat out, “I love food. Do you like food? Wanna food with me?” 

Pushing Victor’s bizarre declaration from his brain, Yuuri nodded, reaching for his backpack. “Sure I’ll food with you,” he chuckled, waiting for Victor to stand up with an excited bounce. Yuuri blushed as Victor’s arm came around his shoulders. Walking out of the door, Yuuri cocked his head to look at Victor. “Hey Victor? Do you know the chemical formula for banana?” 

The rest of the class never heard the punchline, but as Victor’s laughter floated back to them, the class halted all progress to start their dating pool for the two lab partners. 

* * *

 

**Are you hydrogen?**

Sliding into the lab table next to Yuuri, Victor quickly pecked a kiss to Yuuri’s cheek, grinning when the blush flooded to Yuuri’s face. Placing his notebook on the table, Victor carefully flipped to a blank page, preparing to take notes on their lab instructions for the day. Glancing sideways, he noticed Yuuri’s face uncharacteristically buried toward his own notebook, arm bent to hide the page from Victor’s view. Curiosity prickled in Victor’s mind, causing him to wiggle in his seat as he tried to look over Yuuri’s shoulder. 

Casually, Yuuri slid his notebook across the table, a small twitching on his lips as he pretended to pay attention to their professor. Nervously, Victor glanced down, accidentally releasing a squeak of delight that had several students glancing back at him. 

There on the page was an oxygen molecule with bright eyes and glasses with a speech bubble that read “Did you know that oxygen went on a second date with potassium?” Next to the oxygen molecule was potassium, with a distinct flop of parted hair and a cheeky expression that had Victor snorting. Potassium’s speech bubble said “how did it go?” The last bubble made Victor slap a hand over his mouth to attempt to cover up his giggle, laughing as he read the words “it went OK2!” 

Pulling Yuuri’s book closer to his chest, Victor used his arm to protect it from Yuuri’s view, loving the little flicker of concern that passed over Yuuri’s face. He wasn’t as skilled of an artist as Yuuri, but he made quick work of creating his own comic. Drawing out hydrogen, Victor added glasses and a bright smile. Next to it, Victor drew a stick figure with glorious hair. Slowly he wrote out three speech bubbles. With a blush covering his own face, Victor pushed the book back in front of Yuuri and trained his eyes on the front of the classroom. 

Yuuri looked down at the paper, seeing the stick figure and almost bursting into a full laugh. Biting his bottom lip, he focused on the words. 

_Stick Figure Victor: “Are you hydrogen?”_

_Hydrogen Yuuri: “Why?”_

_Stick Figure Victor: “Because I can’t live without you.”_

Smiling, he drew a heart around Victor’s doodle and scribbled “forget hydrogen, you’re my number one element.” Lifting his hand to reveal his writing to Victor, Yuuri squawked as he was tackled from his stool and onto the floor. 

Laughter rang through the classroom as their professor shook his head at them. “Alright, helium helium,” the older man joked, waving his hand to encourage Victor and Yuuri to return to their seats. “Whoever bet they would be a couple by today wins the class pool.” 

As more laughter echoed through the classroom, Victor and Yuuri shared blushing smiles, barely able to care about the other people in the room. Lacing their fingers together under the table, they settled with their shoulders pressing into each other, ready to tackle chemistry and the world together. 

* * *

 

**Permanent Bond**

The blindfold over Yuuri’s eyes had been in place for a little over fifteen minutes when the car finally stopped moving. He heard Victor make an excited noise, immediately before he was left in silence as the car door slammed shut. Nerves ignited under his skin, making him jump when the cold air invaded his side of the car as Victor flung open his door. Feeling Victor lace their fingers together, Yuuri clumsily swung his legs from the car, whispering “thanks” as Victor guided him to stand. Without a word, Yuuri felt himself being tugged forward, breathing deeply to remind himself that Victor had asked for his trust.

The smell hit him first. It was the heavy scent of rubber gloves and plastic-lined aprons, weaved into the smell of chemicals and the faint hints of fires once-burned which made Yuuri smile. There was a touch of musty dampness to the air, familiar in the oldest buildings on campus.

Their feet moved over the tile floor, a sound distinct in its squeaky frequency. Yuuri counted the steps, knowing the path to the assumed room from years of traipsing these hallways while half asleep and functioning on a weary prayer. He could feel the smile curling on his lips, unable to determine the reason they were back in this building, but feeling the excitement swelling inside of him regardless.

“Ok, stop,” Victor spoke unnecessarily soft, as the silence around them assured Yuuri that they were indeed alone. He cocked his head to the side at the sound of the metal door opening, patiently waiting to be pulled inside.

Victor’s knuckles rubbed against the back of Yuuri’s head as his blindfold was removed. Blinking, Yuuri paused staring at the scene in front of him.

On each table of the room there stood a small lab set up. Bunsen burners were causing the various colors of liquid to boil in their suspended beakers. Dangling over each one was a prism, strung from a delicate thread and causing the reflected light from the liquid and the flames to bounce around the room.

“This… cannot be safe…” Yuuri looked over his shoulder to Victor, a million questions in his mind about exactly how long everything was left burning before they made their way to this room.

“No, it’s romantic. Just go with it.” Victor winked at Yuuri, moving in front of him and grabbing both of his hands. Biting his lip, Victor walked backwards into the room, dragging Yuuri toward their old lab table. “Yuuri,” Victor began, taking a shaky breath, “three years ago you punned your way into my heart at this very table and even if our planet was devoid of gravity, I would still be falling for you every single day.” Victor paused to return Yuuri’s snort with a smirk of his own. “All of the direction fields of my heart point to you. My love for you is a universe, vast and never-ending. So…” Victor dropped down on one knee, reaching into his pocket and holding up a ring box. “Will you make a permanent bond with me?”

Tears rolling down his face, Yuuri giggled, “Yttruim einsteinium!” Tackling Victor onto the ground, he planted a hard kiss on his mouth. Pulling back, he allowed Victor to slip the ring on his finger, accepting another kiss as they both laughed with their happiness. Wrapping his arms around Victor’s shoulders, Yuuri hugged him tight and whispered, “we are going to put chemistry puns in our wedding vows, right?”

Bursting with laugh, Victor hugged Yuuri tighter around the waist. The storm of kisses Victor rained down on Yuuri’s face was all the answer he needed. 

**Author's Note:**

> BaNa2 :)
> 
> Yttruim einsteinium = YEs
> 
> Helium Helium = HeHe
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you to my beta [atelerixe](https://atelerixe.tumblr.com) for putting up with my nerdiness!!


End file.
